A 20-year-old bill that would make it easier for adoptees over the age of 18 to get their original birth records is up again in the New York Legislature, where backers say it has more momentum than in the past.Supporters of the Bill of Adoptee Rights argue that information from unsealed birth records is vital to the medical and mental health of adoptees, while opponents say that disclosure would violate a biological parent's privacy.Unsealed birth certificates contain an adoptee's birth name, the names of their biological parents, the biological parents' address at the time of birth, the date and location of birth, as well as religious and ethnic heritage.The bill has 80 sponsors in the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Republican sponsorship in the Senate.

ALBANY, N.Y. —

A 20-year-old bill that would make it easier for adoptees over the age of 18 to get their original birth records is up again in the New York Legislature, where backers say it has more momentum than in the past.

Supporters of the Bill of Adoptee Rights argue that information from unsealed birth records is vital to the medical and mental health of adoptees, while opponents say that disclosure would violate a biological parent's privacy.

Unsealed birth certificates contain an adoptee's birth name, the names of their biological parents, the biological parents' address at the time of birth, the date and location of birth, as well as religious and ethnic heritage.

The bill has 80 sponsors in the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Republican sponsorship in the Senate.